Classics for Beginners discussion

Is anyone a fan of classic short stories and if so are there any you could name or recommend for reading? I love E.A. Poe myself and Anton Chekhov.

I've always loved the short stories by O Henry. I haven't read any of Thomas Hardy's short stories, but I hear they are good.

I quite like Angela Carter, though I have only read a little of her works.

I have The Beast In The Jungle and Babylon Revisited on my shelf, though I haven't read them yet. They are tiny! I don't know if any of you have read them but when I do I will tell you if they are any good.

I went through a short time (about a month) during my teen years fascinated with E. A. Poe and read a bunch of his stuff. I still like some of it but I tend to shy away from dark stuff now.

How about "Sitting in the Catbird Seat" by James Thurber. I love Thurber's sense of humor.

I also read a bunch of short stories a couple of years back...
Usually when I'm busy studying, I'd watch short movies or read short stories and they're like subtle encouragements reminiscent of the feeling of reading classics....among them are Virginia woolf's short stories, and some stuff my friend recommended I think people take in school like marigolds and Scarlet ibis along with the tell-tale heart of course...short but with lasting emotions :)

Lovecraft and Poe are brilliant.
One of the first short stories I read was Guy de Maupassant's The Necklace from a standard anthology at school. This same anthology contained Chekhov's play The Proposal, which led me to some of his short stories.

and Broun's "The Fifty-First Dragon." O'Henry's works (from The 4 Million) are always entertaining.

I'm currently reading The American Short Story. It's a hefty book containing over 200 years of memorable short stories. I'm very much enjoying it and I like that the stories are in chronological order. Highly recommend.

THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE O'HENRY SHORT STORIES.

I have recently read two collections that have both really impressed me: Orientation, by Orzaco and Volt: Stories, by Heathcock.

Orientation is just superbly written. The best story is the title one, very brief and humorous. This one I would recommend to anyone - but especially to those who appreciate form over substance, because the real treat here is in the delightful writing.

Volt is a much darker collection... I can't say it was a 'pleasant' read, but one that had me long thinking, mulling over the meaning of some plot twists. Not for everyone - if you don't like dwelling on the 'darker' side of things, you might not enjoy this.

Anything by Jorge Luis Borges is a great choice.

http://www.bartleby.com/237/33.html

A wonderful Short story by Heywood C. Broun

Fifty-First Dragon.

Who says politics can't be suttle and funny?

My definitive classical list:

Time and the Gods by Lord Dunsany
Dubliners by James Joyce
The Stories of Anton Chekhov
The Stories of Franz Kafka
The Stories of Edgar Allen Poe
The Stories of Yasunari Kawabata
The Stories of Lu Hsun
The Stories of Ernest Hemingway
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges

Honourable mentions: Voltaire, Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Thomas Mann, Guy de Maupassant, H P Lovecraft

Some of my favorite short stories have been by Poe and Hawthorne, but at top of my list of favorites would be A Rose for Emily by Faulkner and The Last Leaf by O. Henry.

I recently finished Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales. I think these 3 stories were the "blueprint" for those authors who chose a single detective for their mysteries. I find it unfortunate there are only these 3 stories.

For all you people who like reading short stories we've just set up a thread for a short story read to celebrate 2000 members.

There's no specific stoies or authors to read, it's pick whatever you like, but we do want to hear about what you read and what you thought of it.

Hope to see a few of you there :) I'll be doing a bit more Poe (working my way slowly through his stories) and possibly a bit of Robert Louis Stevenson.

I want to read some short stories like The Gift of Magi and The Necklace. I mean stories with twisted endings. I will be so much grateful to your generosity?

Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft are two I really enjoy.